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Sex offender guilty of jogger assault avoids prison, gets treatment

A Warren County man who pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition in an attack on a jogger on the Little Miami Trail was ordered today to complete an in-patient sex offender treatment and stay away from the trail and vicinity of the July 2017 attack outside Morrow.

Judge Donald Oda II told Barry Motz, 32, he was placing him on probation and the court’s sex offender docket, rather than sentencing him to the maximum prison sentence, 18 months, in hopes Motz, a previous offender, can learn to control his deviance, rather than coming out of prison “worse than when you went in.”

She and the victim urged Oda to put Motz in prison. The victim is a 64-year-old woman who was practicing for a triathlon when she heard a “guttural sound” and was grabbed by Motz, who lunged from the brush, pants down.

She was able to break free and run back to her car.

In escaping Motz, she said she injured her foot and no longer feels safe running along the popular trail.

“This man’s three minutes of thrill created a health nightmare for me,” she said. “The memory of this assault is with me in every way.”

Motz, who served 119 days in jail while the case was pending, apologized. His lawyer, Timothy McKenna, said a forensic evaluation showed Motz had mental problems best handled through therapy sessions attended while on probation.

Oda barred Motz from coming in contact with the victim or her family and also barred him from the trail vicinity in response to suggestions during the sentencing. The judge warned Motz that he would serve the rest of the 18-month sentence if he violated the terms of his probation.